Freedom
by Transgenic-girl
Summary: The children of Serenity have their own mission to fulfill. The question is will they escape the Alliance's clutches or will their enemies destroy them first? Sequel to Jayne and Charlie.
1. You Did What?

**THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO 'JAYNE AND CHARLIE.' I'D SUGGEST IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET, PLEASE DO (OTHERWISE YOU'LL BE LOST).

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December 31, 2539

"You did what?" Mal paced in front of the band of teenagers in front of him.

"We chipped in all our money and bought ourselves a ship." His daughter replied, as she had been elected to speak for the group.

"You are only eighteen Lara!" Mal shook his head. "Even Rex is only twenty, and he's the oldest."

"Uncle Mal." The tallest of the group stepped forward. He was a gorgeous teen with dark brown hair, and his mother's emerald green eyes. "We can't stay aboard Serenity much longer, there's not enough room."

"That may be true Jess." Mal sighed in acceptance. "What kind of ship is it at least?"

A girl stepped forward, with long brown hair falling in waves down her back and the same amazingly green eyes. "A firefly, an aught 30. Just like home."

Mal smiled at the trio. "The others too scared to face me?" The kids nodded. "What'd you name the ship?"

His daughter grinned. "We decided to name it 'Freedom.'"

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	2. Children of Serenity

**_Here's a longer chapter for my readers, I hope you like it. This chapter introduces...NEW CHARACTERS! Jess and Lex and Rex aren't the only children of Serenity (they couldn't run the ship alone you know)._**

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"I can't believe you're leaving us!" Kaylee's eyes filled with tears, and her normally sunny face crumpled.

Jame sighed and hugged his mom. "This isn't goodbye forever Mom. We'll see you soon." He gave his, as usual, stiff father a hug. "Goodbye father. I'll see you later."

Kaylee gave him another hug. "James Edward Tam, you better keep that ship in good condition. I'll bet Freedom's just like Serenity, you have to check her…"

"Intake manifolds, I know Mom." He kissed her cheek. "You taught me well Mom."

* * *

Zoë looked at her son, inspecting him. Her gaze was met by an identical pair of chocolate brown eyes. At six feet tall, with light copper skin and a constant grin on his face, he was a perfect blend of her and Wash.

She handed him a small black box. He looked at her questioningly.

"What's this?" He asked, smiling.

"Some of your dad's dinosaurs. I thought they'd make Freedom's bridge more comfortable. Of course some are still at his old seat, but Freedom needed a few too."

"Thanks Mom." He gave her a fierce hug.

Zoë gave her son a kiss on his forehead. "Now just try to keep Jess and Lex out of too much trouble. You know how they see you as their voice of reason."

He gave her another 'Wash' grin. "Yes mom, I'll make sure they don't shoot too many people."

* * *

Even though they had two full grown beautiful daughters, Cal and River Jensen stilled looked only about thirty, at most. The blonde man wasn't looking too sure of their daughters' judgment at the moment. His wife however, was looking completely at ease.

Their twin blonde daughters were looking as unsure as their father. Their deep blue eyes were filled with tears at the thought of leaving Serenity. It had always been their home, their sanctuary.

The girl dressed in a dark blue corset dress threw herself into her father's arms. "Dad, I'm going to miss you so much!"

The other girl, dressed in a baby blue corset dress, did the same. "I'm going to miss you too!"

Their mother smiled. "Helen, Angelina. It's going to be okay. We'll see you soon, when you come back to celebrate your marriages."

Cal looked at his wife, shocked. "River, aren't you jumping the gun a little?"

River kissed each of her daughters' cheeks then soundly kissed her husband. "No." She turned back to Hel and Gel. "You two'll be just fine."

* * *

Jayne Cobb stared at his wayward children. They had grown up so quickly. His son was as tall as he was, and his daughter was just a few inches shorter. Luckily, even though they got their height from him, they got their mother's looks. He chuckled.

Charlie looked up at her husband. "What is so funny?"

"I was just thinking how lucky these two are to get your looks." He kissed her. "Not to mention your brains."

"Yeah, they lucked out." Charlie grinned.

"Hey!" Jayne knew when he was being insulted. His wife shut him up with a kiss.

"Ugh, Mom, Dad! Gross!" The twins said in perfect unison.

Three sets of emerald green eyes were filled with laughter, and so was a pair of baby blues.

Charlie gave a kiss and a hug to each of her kids. "Make sure you keep your friends safe. You two are the tallest, the strongest, and they all look up to you. Look out for each other as well."

Jayne hugged his son. "Watch over your sister." He hugged his daughter. "Watch your brother's back. You know he never thinks before he acts." He looked at both of them. "If someone tries to kill you, you better try and kill them right back. Cobb's don't stand for that gorram nonsense."

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Mal looked down at his daughter. "Malara, I don't know exactly what to say."

"Good luck? It's a pretty standard send off." The girl replied, showing off the old Reynolds' lack of respect for authority.

"Of course good luck. Not that you need it." Mal ruffled her long light brown hair.

"Dad!" She attempted to straighten it. "You are lucky I don't feel the need to look perfect. Messing up a girl's hair, it's a shootable offense."

Mal grinned, thinking about how different his daughter was from her mother. Inara could never stand to look anything less than perfectly put up.

Lara knew immediately that her father was thinking about _her_. Her father had never gotten over her leaving them when Lara had barely been a year old.

"Earth-that-was to Dad. Come in Dad." Lara shook his shoulder gently.

Mal immediately got back to reality. "Well then, be safe. And give Serenity a wave if you're ever in trouble."

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**_So..what do you think of the children of Serenity?_**

**_Drop me a line or two_**

**_Reviews Equal Love_**


	3. Happy Birthday

**_Even though my Muse is ducking my calls right now, I have plenty of Freedom written out, so I have a cushion of more than enough chapters._**

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December 16, 2540

The crew was celebrating. It was now almost a year since they had left Serenity. Plus, it was Lara's nineteenth birthday.

"Happy birthday Lara!" Hel cried as she pulled out a cake, complete with candles.

"With the success of our last job, it's made of real flour, butter, sugar and eggs." Rex got out plates for everyone, grinning.

Lara looked around the table at her friends, her family. "Were you all in on this?" The resulting grins gave her the answer.

Gel leaned forward. "Don't blow out the candles yet, we forgot something."

"What?" Lara laughed as presents seemingly came out of nowhere.

"Happy birthday to you..." Gel led the crew in singing.

Jess was walking through the cargo bay, unable to figure out why he was so restless. He decided to head to the kitchen, to see if there were any leftovers. He stopped in the doorway as his transgenic hearing picked up the sound of someone crying softly.

He looked inside to find that it was Lara, sitting all alone at the table. "Lara? Lara what's wrong?"

She looked up, tears streaming down her face. "Oh it's you Jess."

He stepped inside, pulling up a chair across from her. "What's wrong?" He repeated. "I thought you liked the party, and the presents."

She shook her head, wiping away her tears. "I did. That's not why I'm crying you big dummy."

"Oh." He sat back. "Why are you crying then? I've never seen you do it before."

"It's stupid." She sighed.

"Tell me." He was just glad she'd stopped crying.

"It's eighteen years exactly tonight that she left." She murmured, barely audible.

"Your mom." Jess remembered that night vaguely. Mostly just memories of shouting.

"Inara. Maybe she gave birth to me, but she is not my mom." Lara pulled her knees up to her chest. "She cared more about being a Companion than being my mom."

"Then she's dumb." Jess said decidedly. "You are pretty, smart and one of the shiniest people I know."

"You think I'm pretty?" Lara grinned.

"Of course." Jess gulped, but continued. "Your hair is soft, and the color of your dad's browncoat. Your face is beautiful. And your body makes me think things that would get me thrown out an airlock if your dad found out."

"Airlock worthy huh?" Lara grinned again. "Didn't my dad threaten to throw your dad out of an airlock once?" All trace of sadness had left her eyes, replace by laughter.

"A few times actually." He lowered his voice conspiratorially and leaned in towards her. "The most famous time was when Mom had a seizure and Dad brought her in to Uncle Simon."

"Why would Dad threaten him over that?" She began whispering too.

"Well, Mom was naked." Lara gasped and giggled. "Plus Uncle Simon let it slip that she was pregnant with Lex and me."

"I'm surprised he didn't actually throw him out." She pressed her fingers of one hand over her lips to stifle a laugh. "What stopped him?"

"Mom." Jess laughed softly. "She got dressed and threatened your dad." He laughed harder and Lara joined him.

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**_What do you think about my characters, they'll be developing as time goes on._**

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**_And love is always appreciated_**


	4. Lara and Jess

**_Sorry it's been awhile on this one. I swear I have a lot ready for you, it just takes me awhile to get around to typing it up._**

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The crew began noticing the change in Jess and Lara's behavior about two weeks later during one of their jobs.

Lara had been trying to negotiate for the payment of some seed corn on the backwater moon of Carthage. The slimy people they had been dealing with got itchy trigger fingers and tried to take the cargo for free. One had nearly gotten a shot off at Lara before Jess intervened.

It had taken all the transgenic speed he had gotten from his mother to stop Lara from taking a bullet. Normally both he and Lex tried to play down their abilities when dealing with ordinaries. They didn't want to draw unwanted attention from what was left of Lane's descendents.

Taking her cue from Jess, Lex had also used her abilities against their once business partners. Hel had taken one look at the melee and grabbed Lara. The pair had ran from the building and back to the ship.

Jess and Lec quickly finished off their opponents. They barely seemed to notice that they had been outnumbered three to one. Lex grabbed up the man's money and shot her brother a look.

Jess shrugged. "What?"

"You're such a dweeb." She shook her head.

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Several days later Lex had been returning to her room after a 3 AM workout in the cargo bay, when she saw Jess come out of Lara's room. He was pulling on his t-shirt when he turned around to find her watching him. She laughed when he jumped.

"Gah! I hate it when you do that!" His eyes narrowed. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Shark DNA." She stuck her tongue out at him. "What were you doing in Lara's bunk? Like I even need to ask."

"Uh..." He mumbled, lost for words.

"This better not be another one of your flings." She put her hands on her hips. "Uncle Mal would kill you if he found out."

"It's not." He put up both hands, not anxious to fight her. She might be smaller, but she was faster and she fought dirty. "And he's not really our uncle."

"I'm not kidding Jess. If you hurt her you'll have to deal with me." She took a step towards him, glad that at six feet tall, she didn't really have to look up to look him in the eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt her. I...I'm in love with her."

Lex didn't look completely convinced. "Okay. At least you have great taste big brother. Besides she's kinda matching to you."

"Matching?" Jess looked confused.

"Yeah, you're both smart asses." She gave her brother a kiss on the cheek.

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"You did what!" Mal yelled over the wave, fuming.

"Jess and I got married." Lara repeated. "Honestly Dad, is every conversation we have gonna be like this?"

"Are you pregnant!" Mal shouted. "Cause if you are I swear I'll geld that boy!"

Lara rolled her eyes. "No Dad, I'm not pregnant."

"Let me talk to him. Alone." Mal said with a sigh.

Lara looked suspiciously at her father. "Okay, but no threatening him or nothing." She kissed Jess lightly as he took her seat. Than she left the room.

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**_This is why I listed this under romance ; )_**

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**_And Love is Always Appreciated_**


	5. Cake and Wontons

**_Sorry the latest updates have been few and far between, I've been sidetracked by my other story_**

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"How'd they take it?" Rex asked when Lara came out of the bunk that now belonged to her and Jess.

"Jayne and Charlie took it fine. They wished us luck and Charlie was happy. She said, 'Thank god somebody would take him.' She was just kidding, but you should've seen the expression on Jess's face."

They all laughed at that.

"She does love to shock people." Lex gasped out between laughs.

Jess climbed out of the bunk. "What's so funny?" He wrapped one arm casually around Lara's waist and kissed her gently.

She kissed his cheek. "Nothing dear."

They all laughed again.

Jame sent Lex a look no one else caught. Then he cleared his throat. "Well, are we just gonna stand around or are we gonna party?"

Hel smiled broadly. "Gel and I have got quite a spread laid out. Strawberries, apples, oranges..."

"Steak, pot-stickers, wontons..." Rex put in.

"And cake!" Gel said with a grin. "With yummy frosting."

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"What's the job Badger?" Jess drawled lazily. He stared down at the man and his straggly tie. Nearly twenty-five years had not helped the little man a bit. He was just as slimy as ever.

Badger looked at Lara, who was standing next to her husband. He caught the look of disgust on her face as she looked at him. "You know little girl, you're just as stuck-up as your father."

Jess glared at him. "What's the job Badger?" He ground out angrily. Badger flinched.

"I need you to get me a book."

"Oh you finally learn to read then?" Lara said with a smile. "I hear Hop on Pop is a classic."

"And you're a smart ass, just like your...eep!" Badger's thought was cut off by Jess's attack.

"I wouldn't continue talking if I were you." Jess snarled as he raised Badger off the floor by his throat. "Insulting my wife, not the best idea."

"O...okay." Badger gasped. Jess dropped him like a bag of garbage and stepped away. Badger stumbled to his feet, holding onto his throat. "The book is some report on some valuable property's whereabouts. Just get me the book and bring it back here. I'll pay you handsomely."

"What's the job specs?" Jess hissed out.

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**_This is a lull in the story before some MAJOR plot developments. The next chapter will be up at least by Thursday._**

**_What do you think?_**

**_Reviews Equal Love_**

**_And Love is Always Appreciated_**

**_on myspace look up "Alycia Davis" I'm the one in Cali._**


	6. The BountyHunter's Log

**_I felt guilty for not updating this story as much as my other one, so here's two short and one really long and really important scenes._**

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Jess and Lex checked their weapons, then slid in the room through an air vent. It had been childs play displaying the mansion's security system. Or at least that's what Hel told them after she'd done done it.

They searched the room quickly, looking behind every picture and under every piece of furniture. Lex pulled back a painting of some ancient looking fantasy creature, to find an almost as ancient safe. She smiled and cracked her knuckles.

"Look Jess, a combination safe!" She winked at him. "However should I get in?"

"Quit screwing around Lex." Jess scowled. "We both know you've been cracking safes practically since birth."

Lex pouted. "Aw, you're no fun." She easily unlocked the safe in under a minute. "Well I think it's kinda sweet. All trusting and all."

Jess rolled his eyes. "You sound like Aunt Kaylee. Or maybe it's Jamie who's rubbing off on you." He smirked.

She glared at him. "Whatever." She retrieved the worn leather bound book from inside, along with a small bag of platinum coins. "Let's go, I've got it."

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Hel and Gel sat staring at the book as it sat on the dining room table.

"I don't get it." Hel murmured. "What's so special about this book?"

Gel grinned. "Well, it can't hurt to look." She grabbed the book and opened it. "Oh god!" Her face went completely pale.

Hel jumped up. "What? What is it?"

"X5-622, X5-623..." Gel read aloud. She looked at her twin. "That's Aunt Charlie's number isn't it?"

Hel grabbed the book from her sister. "This is a report on the cryo-program they put her in."

"We have to tell Jess and Lex."

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Lex sat against the wall. She was holding onto the book so tightly that her knuckles were white. It was shut, she hadn't had the nerve to read it. She sighed. Closing her eyes, she opened the book.

"What does it say?" Jess asked as he crouched down beside her.

"Twenty transgenics were in the cryo-program. Five sets of female twins and five sets of male twins." She looked at him. "Why would they go out of their way to track down twins?"

"I think I know." Gel said quietly, making the whole room turn towards her. "It is a scientific experiment constant, dual trials."

James blew out a breath. "They wanted to make sure that if they survived that it wasn't a fluke."

Lex nodded, saddened by the thought of her mom at the hands of such monsters. She began to read again. "Around the time that humans left the Earth-that-was, there was an electrical surge..." She pressed her fingers against her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

Jess put a hand on her shoulder. "Lex? What is it?"

"The surge... It tripped the chambers." She took a shuddering breath. "All but five of the chambers shut down. The others all died."

Jess took the book from her. After giving her a quick hug, he stood up. "The rest of the book is some bounty hunter's report on what happened to the remaining chambers."

Lara stepped towards him. "You say that like they moved or something."

"They did." All the crew's stunned looks. Jess continued. "Some scavenger found them and sold them to some rich guy. Then this guy hid the five containers on five separate planets."

Lex looked up. "Well we know Mom was found on Phoenix. Some freak had found on Phoenix. Some freak had found her and figured out what she was. Dad saved her. Who'll save the other four?"

Jess shook his head. "According to this it isn't four anymore. Two were discovered by Alliance over a period of forty years." A picture fluttered to the ground. The face of a middle-aged black man stared up at them.

Rex picked it up. "Who is this? He looks familiar."

Gel looked at the picture as she stood beside him. "I've seen him before, one of Mom's pictured she liked to draw. She called him 'the Operative.'"

Lara looked up at the sound of the name. "The Operative?"

"You recognize the name?" Jess asked, curious.

"Remember Miranda?" They all nodded solemnly. "The Operative was the one after them."

James shook his head. "I can't believe he's a transgenic."

Lara spoke up. "So the Alliance is using two, they're lost to us, but the other two?"

Jess looked back at the book. "One was found by an Alliance-friendly official." He looked up, shocked. "Two weeks ago!"

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**_Which one was found? Wouldn't you like to know? Review and you'll find out._**

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	7. Plan

_**Hey everyone, sorry this has been so late. My computer crashed for a week. I nearly died I swear.**_

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"Oh god." Jess murmured.

"What?" Lara put a hand on his muscular arm.

"The third transgenic, it's X5-623." He shot Lex a look. "Mom's twin."

"Axis?" Lex gasped. "How is that possible? I thought she was taken out by one of Lane's lieutenants?"

Jess flipped through the book until he found the five transgenics' medical files. He scanned through the one belonging to Axis.

"It says that she was brought in for the experiment after a month in a coma." Jess opened his mouth to continue, but stopped.

Lara pulled the book out of his motionless fingers and quickly read the page. "Broken bones in the double digits, a collapsed lung, shattered knee caps, dislocated shoulder and three crushed fingers. It's a miracle she lived."

Hel smiled sadly. "If she hadn't been a transgenic she wouldn't have."

Lex took the book from Lara. Her eyes widened when she read the rest of the file. "Jess you wouldn't believe this."

Jess looked at his twin sister. "What? What wouldn't I believe?"

"She was pregnant when she was taken down." She struggled to keep her eyes from filling with tears. "They didn't terminate the pregnancy just so they could use her to test the cryo effects on a pregnancy and on the baby."

Jess clenched his fists. "We've got to get her out. We can't let the Alliance get her and maybe a baby cousin of ours."

Gel stepped forward. "I've got a plan."

* * *

Lex pulled on her mom's favorite belted holsters and silver handguns. Charlie had given the guns to Lex the day they had left on Freedom. Lex thought it was fitting to use her mother's guns to try to save her mother's twin.

She looked to her right and saw her brother and Lara engaged in a long lingering kiss goodbye. Jess pulled away and just stared down at Lara for a full minute, his hand on her cheek.

Lex looked to her left and caught sight of Hel and Gel checking their weapons. Gel looked up and her eyes met Rex's. Lex wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't been feeling the same way, like she was coming back from this mission.

She looked behind her to find James looking straight at her. He shot her a look that said, 'Come back.' She nodded almost invisibly. Then she turned around.

The four part-transgenics picked up their packs and walked out the cargo bay doors out onto the spotless Core dock.

* * *

Hel nodded to her sister. They then proceeded to scaled the side of the building where Axis was being held. The identical twins were dressed exactly the same, that way if they were sighted, it would seem as if there was only one of them.

After turning on their comms they nodded to eachother and split off in opposite directions. Hel passed countless rooms before she found the one they all were looking for.

"Jess. Lex. I found her." Hel whispered into her mike. "Quadrant four, section 3A."

"Roger that Hel," Jess rumbled over the comm. "Lex, Gel, meet me there."

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**_From here on out it gets a little action packed. Probably a new chap tomorrow, or Friday._**

**_Reviews Equal Love_**

**_And Love is Always Appreciated_**


	8. 623

_Thanks to**Legion Fardreamer** for reviewing my story. I almost gave up on it because I thought no one was reading it. Pretty Much no one is... I understand why though, not many people are Firefly and DA fans._

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The two pairs of twins stared through the viewing window into the room.

"She looks just like Mom did when we were little." Lex whispered, her statement barely audible.

"We have to get her out of here now!" Jess moved to yank open the door. Gel stopped him.

"Wait!" She hissed.

"What?" Jess asked, confused.

"The door might be rigged to an alarm." She rolled her eyes. "You know the Alliance loves alarms."

"Oh. Yeah." He smiled sheepishly.

The blonde laughed. "You never remember the alarms." She shook her head and got to work on the panel next to the door. After a minute she stepped off to the side. "Done."

"Great." Jess opened the door. A red light silently began to flash over the door. None of the part transgenics saw it. The four of them walked silently through the now open door.

Four sets of eyes; two sets emerald green, two sets deep blue, stared down at the unconscious form of X5623.

The transgenics was sedated and bound to the medical bed she was lying on. Her long dark hair was tied back and her heavily lashed eyes were shut.

"She looks like she's our age." Hel whispered.

"Well, she kinda is." Gel whispered back.

The burst of static over their comms tore their attentions away from the young woman.

"Guys!" Rex's voice yelled over their earpieces. "You must've tripped a secondary alarm or something, Alliance guards are on their way to your position."

Jess and Lex cursed quite colorfully. Hel and Gel shared a look then began undoing 623's restraints. As soon as she was free, Jess gingerly scooped her up into his arms.

Lex turned to her brother. "Jess, take her and Gel. Hel and I will try to hold them off." He opened his mouth to argue but she cut him off. "Just go, Gel needs to be with her to check her stats and you need to carry her out of here."

Jess nodded silently and hurried out of the door. Gel followed. Hel and Lex shot each other a glance.

The sound of rapid bootsteps coming towards them a minute later steeled their nerves. Lex slid her prized silver pistols out of their hlsers. Hel cocked her handgun. With a quick glance and a pair of nods, they burst through the door, guns raised.

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_**Please Review**_

**_Should I just give up?_**

**_If I even get one review I'm gonna keep posting_**


	9. Flashes of Light

Thanks so much to **Writer of Favorites, **your helpful commetnshelped me enormously in rewriting this chapter,

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For Lex everything after she and Hel burst through the heavy steel door was a blur of adrenaline and gunfire.

Six guards. All dressed in dark blue uniforms and one carrying one of those damned techie wannabe guns. She could see however that all carried regular projectile weapons as well.

They seemed to be taken by surprise that it was two beautiful teenage girls coming at them and not the hardened butt-ugly criminals they must've been expecting.

In that instant of hesitation the Hel and Lex cut down half the group. As their group fell the three left standing finally jumped into action.

One of the guards grazed Hel's shouler before a bullet from Lex's gun caught him between his wide dark eyes. He fell to the ground, dead before he hit the cold metal floor.

Hel had just taken out the fifth guard when Lex got hit.

* * *

Lex looked down and watched her shirt blossom with blood. She looked up and watched Hel blow away the final guard. Then Lex slowly crumpled to the ground.

Lex gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she lay on the floor, her cheek against the icy metal surface. All her senses seemed muffled, as if she was underwater. Vaguely she could hear Hel talking to her and dragging her out of the facility.

The only things that pierced the fog she was in were the blinding pain in her abdomen and the slow pounding of her heart. Her last thoughts before blackness overwhelmed her was of the one she loved.

"James." She whispered as her tears ran down her cheeks and she passed out.

* * *

flashback

"Stay." James murmured when Lex pulled out of his arms.

Lex smiled and gave him a quick kiss before sliding out of the warm bed to gather up her clothes that were strewn about the bunk. "You know I can't. If my brother found me here…"

"He'd rip me limb from limb, I know." He grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her back towards the bed. "But it'd be worth it." He grinned at her.

Lex couldn't help smiling back. "Well, I guess one more hour wouldn't hurt. He's still asleep right now." She slid back beneath the covers, and back into his arms.

"An hour, huh?" James wiggled his eyebrows roguishly, making Lex laugh. "I can work with that."

end flashback

* * *

Deep, endless black. Lex groaned. Pain blinding her, her vision coming in flashes as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Hel, her hand pressed against the gaping wound in Lex's abdomen, trying to stop the bleeding. Wiping tears off her face as she sent a distress call to the ship.

Their arrival back at Freedom. Jess driving the mule. Hel crying and holding both hands on Lex's stomach, blood oozing between her fingers.

Gel yelling that there wasn't enough time to get her into the infirmary. Pulling the bullet out in the middle of the damn cargo bay. Jess looking panicked as he saw all the blood.

* * *

flashback

Lex was walking down to the Engine Room. James appeared and pulled her inside the part cluttered room. He gave her a hard kiss and a smile.

"Hey." He whispered, holding her close.

"Hey." She whispered back, followed by a kisss.

"We can't keep sneaking around like this." He said between kisses as he pressed her against the bulkhead.

"I know." She grinned, thinking of the past few weeks.

"Let's get married." He kissed her again.

"Really?" She looked deeply in his brown eyes.

"Yeah. I love you and want to be with you forever." He kissed her several more times.

"I love you too." She smiled. "Let's do it. We can announce it after the mission."

James grinned and held her tightly as they kissed. Then he pulled away slightly to whisper in her ear. "Be careful okay, I don't want anything to happen to you."

end flashback

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_**What do you think?**_

**_Reviews Equal Love_**

**_And Love is Always Appreciated_**


	10. HalfTon Eyelids

_**For once it came to only one long scene. Thanks to Yarharr for reviewing.**_

* * *

Lex struggled to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand ounds each. Even in the darkness she felt the warm pressure of someone holding onto her hand.

She finally screwed up all her strength and managed to lift her impossibly heavy lids. The vision before her was well worth the effort. James was sitting beside the bed holding her right hand to his lips, his eyes closed as if in prayer. After a moment he looked over and his eyes widened when he saw that she was awake.

"Hey." He drawled, smiling slowly.

"Hey." She smiled, and then winced from the pull of her skin against a cut near her hairline. "You're smiling James. I guess that means I'm not going to keel over then."

He laughed softly, glad she was feeling up to cracking jokes. "No, not just yet." He handed her a pair of pills and offered them to her. "Gel said this'll help with the pain, said it was the equivalent of 'children's Tylenol' or something."

She swallowed the pills and took a sip from the water he offered her. "What's Tylenol?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess something your Mom told her about."

She looked around the room, then turned to him with a half amused, half confused look on her face. "How did you convince Jess to leave you alone with me?"

He grinned. "Should I be offended?"

"No, I just meant how did you explain why you should be here with me?" She couldn't resist smiling back, his smile infectious. "You didn't…"

"Tell him about us? No. I thought we should tell him together." He turned her hand over and pressed a soft kiss onto her palm. "We decided to take shifts watching over you, in case you woke up today."

"And I woke up during your turn?" She caressed his cheek with her hand, smiling up at him. "Must be a sign."

He laughed. "You always say that. Thinking you smell pizza means we should make it, seeing an ad for candy means we should go buy some."

She laughed back. "Hey…that peanut butter cup ad was a sign okay. If we hadn't stepped into that stall to buy some those Alliance guards would've caught us before we could unload that shipment of illegal beagles."

"I cannot believe that job actually existed." He continued laughing. "Mom and the rest of the parents could not keep from ribbing us for that."

Lex sobered as a thought occurred to her. "James, what happened to 623?"

James stopped laughing. "She's hasn't woken up yet. Gel is trying to figure out a way to wake her up without hurting her or the baby."

"I guess that's why the Alliance hadn't woken her up yet." Lex sighed. "I just wish sometimes that people would stop trying to dissect every transgenic they find. But I guess that after five hundred and twenty years, it's not looking all that likely that all ordinaries will accept us."

"Then we'll just have to show them how amazing you all are." He kissed her palm again. "How human you are."

Before James could say anything more Gel sauntered into the room. She nearly squealed with happiness when she saw that Lex was awake.

"How are you feeling?" She came over to give her a gentle hug.

Lex squeezed her cousin tight. "Like I got shot in the stomach by some pigu hundan."

Gel smiled widely, and then she became deadly serious and put her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what exactly?" Lex asked obtusely, ignoring the fact that James was holding onto her hand in an obviously intimate way.

"First that James and you were together," She raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage to keep that a secret when we all live on this ship?"

James and Lex both sported grins. "We have our ways."

Lex looked at Gel and cocked her head. "You said first, what other things have we been keeping from you."

"That you're pregnant dummy. I found out from your bloodtests."

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**_So what do you think? Anonymous reviews accepted, or if you don't like something about this story tell me exactly why._**

**_Reviews Equal Love_**


	11. Searching the News

**_I'm so sorry for not updating recently. I'm in my last month of high school so life has been frantic. Today has been my first unsleep-deprived free day. Hope you all like this update, even though it is rather short._**

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Hel scoured the latest news briefs as she leaned back in the pilot's chair, her feet up on the console. She was searching for any mention or hint of the final original transgenic. She blew out an exasperated breath, she had been at it for over an hour. She had volunteered to keep up the search for the last X5 while everyone else was occupied.

Gel was in the medbay watching over the still unconscious 623, Rex was undoubtedly beside her. James and Lex were talking quietly in their bunk, trying to process the latest bombshell in their odd life. And Jess and Lara were in their bunk…well…keeping eachother busy.

So, feeling more than a little left out and lonely, Hel had had to figure out something productive to do. She tapped her feet unconsciously and hummed an ancient song about pills that made you shrink or grow and about smoking catepillars and white rabbits. It didn't make much sense to Hel, but it was a favorite of her aunt's.

Somewhere into her third hour searching, she stopped, transfixed by one specific news report. In the the corner of the vid she could see a distinct barcode on the back of a tanned neck. She couldn't see the face of the person it was attached to, but the number matched the one in the bounty hunter's report.

She jumped to her feet, feeling exhilirated and useful. They were off to the tiny moon of Echlieben, finally they had a useful tip in their search. She'd wait for another hour, then rouse the rest of the crew using the comm system.

She smiled, glad to be finally of use. As the backup pilot she didn't have much to do besides bake and she didn't think that was very helpful at all. Sure it kept everyone fed, but it didn't seem that important. She did a little happy dance and launched into a verse of a song about being shook through the night time hours.

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Jess and Lara showed up on the bridge a few seconds before Hel had planned to announce her findings to the crew. She was standing right next to the mike, her finger mere millimeters from the button. She looked up and nearly laughed out loud.

Jess' hair was sticking up in every conceivable direction, and his shirt was half untucked from his pants. Lara looked slightly more put together, but she had lost her belt somewhere along the way and her lips were swollen. They both sported a glazed starry-eyed look and seemed to be a little unfocused. In addition Jess was wearing a goofy grin and Lara a satisfied smirk.

Hel rolled her eyes. After every single mission…

Jess shook his head and focused on the slender blonde in front of him. "Any news Hel?"

She grinned excitedly. "I found him. Or at least one of the places he has been, it is a start at least."

Jess' eyes widened. "Where?"

She bounced excitedly. "A moon called Eichlieben."

Jess and Lara shared a look. Then Jess said to Hel, "Rouse the rest of the crew, let's go."

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**_Well, what do you think?_**

**_Reviews equal love. And I am lacking some._**


	12. Possible End of the Story

**_Author's Note, yes another one, I apologize._**

**_I'm really stuck on this story. I'm gonna need some help._**

**_I don't need corrections or anything like that, just someone to brainstorm with._**

**_So more like a groan co-writer._**

**_I have yahoo messenger, myspace and a hotmail account. I check my hotmail several times a day looking for new chapters, so I'm very accessible._**

**_Please help, otherwise I'm afraid that this story is going to go extinct._**

**_Transgenic-girl_**


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